Cotton-picking machine doffer



Dec. 4, 1951 M. 0.; RUST COTTON PICKING MACHINE DOFFER Filed July 16, 1949 Ma 0 Q INVENTOR. M30? 0. Rug) BY ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 4, 1951 UNITED OFFICE 2,51 oO-r'mN-PICKING MACHINE DQFEER. Me k 1 is i c a it Application-July 1949, SeriaLNo. 105,085

I "wens.- 5157- 3 'l hisinvention relates generally to cotton pickn m h n oi e e ma in se fep vr.

alit ioi t t ne dle for: he m val me r on fihe om c o t qotton picking machines of the rotatable spind e. type, uc as ha b e 5 emme c lvk ayfixemp y a e se umbe ota n pin-f dies. arranged in vertically spaced rows, and

ada edtc r s success y h ou h. en ckw ns- 9 .1 n wh th p n le a e h s in o h plants a stripping zone in which cotton carried b the. pin s. is re o e-d1. d. a o s eni zone for, applying moisture to the spindles before returnin them totheipicking zone. Such ma chines; are 'disclosed for example in Patents issues, 2,058,513, and, 2,055,045"; A critical andimpqrtant part of such'machines is the means m loyed int rip n one for em i sw r.

tonfiber from the spindles. For this operation it has been common practice to use vertically spaced stripping bars, through which the spin dles are caused to pass. Such bars are arranged 9 @9 1: p t full. n t h9. .d,l i a ce itt -i omp n e; a lot he fiber. e the' niedlesee s t h mqi ee e 0292a:

cs Re eliv' eeid cc's haveb en sed with piiigi tieiii fid iedi c tc i iti m mu n h station r ripp ticularly near the ends olf the strippin bars he; 1e

bars 53, 2

-, theabove type, particularly with respect to thegv mea s employe orm n t n m. he;

pick n n s More specifically it is an object of the present;

invention to provide an improved cotton picking a hine h ch will. rcome abov e c be defects and disadvantages of prior'machines and;

which ll b ec ntinu us nd o p t r movalg-of o on r m. e p nd s w h ut ac: cumulation of cottonin the stri pen slots.

et bi t einven o stq pr ide;

improved stripping means characterized by the;

use of stationary stripping bars, togethe -with rotary. means whichserves; to perform both strip-1 ping and dofiing functions.

Additional objects of the invention will appear from the following-description in whichthepree; ferred embodiments of the invention have been.

- set forth in detail in conjunction with the accomuse; 5,-

penyi urewi s- Referring to the drawing Figure 1 isa plan View in section, illustrating a cotton picking machine incorporating the present invention.

Figure 2 is across-sectionaldetail on an en Iarged scale, taken along'the line 2'2 of Figure 1. 7

Figure 3.is a detail illustrating one construction for the paddledike memberscarried by the; rotary stripping and dofiing device. I

Figure 4.is ,a cross-sectional view illustratin .-m ifiedw form o ri p n an do fin vice;

Figure 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional detail, taken along the line 5--5 ofFigure 1.

Figurgfi is a viewlike, Figure 4, andshowing,

anotlrier embodiment of the stripping and dofiing d vi e:

Figures '7 and 8 arediagranimatic views serv; ing to illustrate the mode of operation of my invention."

R eferring to Figure 1 of the drawing, I have; shown a portion of a cotton picking machine. as; the-type-disclosed insaid patents, and includin the rotary picking spindles l0, together with the; vertical spindlecarryingslats II. The slats ar e; shown being carriedby upper and lower endless chains 12, which engagethe sprockets i 3l As; viewed. in Figure 1, the spindles are passing, through the. strippingzone, after which they-are. moistened, and then "thrust into the plants: fog-T the picking operation.

he i 'pin ceneconsi s 5. s, l ral ty;

3 vertically spaced fingers M, which are relatively rigid in construction, and which have their corresponding ends carried by the vertical support post I6. The portions Ma of these fingers serve to mount the stripping bars 11. The spaces 18 between these bars are dimensioned to be slightly greater than the diameter of the spindles, as shown in Figure 5. The right hand sides of bars I! as viewed in Figure are positioned toward the directionfrom which the spindles are moving and thus may be termed the stripping faces of the bars II. It will be noted from Figure 1 that the bars I! are inclined toward the path of movement of the spindles, whereby the base of each spindle enters between the right hand ends (1. e. the entrant ends) of the bars as viewed in Figure 1,

and leaves the left hand ends (i. e/egress ends) of the bars.

Between the left hand or egress ends of the stripping bars IT, and the support post 15, the portions Mb of the fingers are arched around the curved contour line 2|, to accommodate a rotary stripping and doling device as will be presently explained. In order to properly guidethe spindles as they pass between the finger portions [4b, the upper and lower faces of these portions carry the guide strips 22 (Figure 2) which serve to provide slots comparable in height to the openings I8 between the stripping bars H.

In conjunction with the stationary stripping bars I provide a rotary stripping and doffmg device 23. This device is mounted upon the vertical rotatable shaft 24, which is driven by suitable means, such as the belt 26, and the pulley 21. The device in this instance consists of a hub 28 which extends the complete height of the stripping bars, and which has a plurality of circumferentially spaced paddle-like members 29 mounted upon its periphery. The members 29 are disposed in vertically spaced sets, separated by the annular spaces 3 l, which are proportioned to accommodate the end portions of the spindles 10, as illustrated in Figure 2. Preferably the upper and lower side faces of the members 29 are divergent in a direction outwardly with respect to the radius of rotation, as shown particularly in Figure 2, and in addition they are divergent back-- wardly with respect to the direction of rotation, as illustrated particularly in Figure 3. This construction aids in permitting fiber to free itself from the members 29, when they are performing their stripping and dofiing operations. It will be evident from Figure 2 that the paddle-like members 29 in their rotation sweep through substantially the entire vertical spaces between the free ends of the spindles Hi, and that they pass in such proximity to the free ends of the spindles that they may perform a'stripping operation.

As illustrated particularly in Figure l, the stripping bars are so disposed, and the spindles I i) are of such length, that the bars I'l act over the major portion but not all of the length of each spindle. Particularly an end portion of each spindle passes beyond the egress ends of the bars [7, rather thanbetween the same. As will be presently explained with reference to Figures '7 and 8,'this enables the free end portion of each spindle to function as a cotton retaining portion.

The length of each spindle whichls permitted to pass beyond the stripping bars i? may vary in practice but in general it should not be less than about 1.5 times the diameter of the spindle. In practice from 1.5 to 2 times the spindle diameter can be employed with good results. For example where the spindle diameter is of an inch, the

2,577,867 i; f 'i a J end portion of the spindle which passes beyond the egress ends of the bars II, can be about of an inch in length.

It will be noted from Figure 1 that as the spindles are presented to the zone of operation of stripping and doifing device 23, they are substantially tangential to the periphery of this device, and the paddle-like members 29 operate over an end portionof .each spindle which is substantially greater in length than the length of the end portion which passes beyond the stripping bars.

Operation of the machine as described above can be better explained by reference to Figures 7 and 8. In Figure '7 a spindle l0 has been illustrated in three different operating positions. In the first right hand position the spindle is shown with a quantity of cotton fiber 36 wrapped indiscriminately about the same, and the base of the spindle is about to enter between the stripping bars ll. In the middle position the spindle has passed part way through the stripping bars, and the cotton has been forced toward the free end of the spindle.

, tion of the spindle, all of the fiber has been stripmight result from the preceding strippingaction. 5

ped to the end portion of the spindle, as the spindle is leaving the egress end of the stripping bars, and the cotton is shown being generally held or retained by the end (i. e. unstripped) portion of the spindle, which is passing beyond the egress ends of the stripping bars ll.

egress ends of the stripping bars 11, thus tending to loosen the fiber following any tightening which From the position shown in Figure '7, the spindle [0 moves only a short distance to bring the cotton into the zone of operation of the stripping and doifing device 23. The paddle-like members 29 of this device engage the cotton above and below the spindle, thus stripping the same from the tip end of the spindle, and delivering the cotton to conveying or receiving means.

It will be evident that the mode of operation, as described with reference to Figures 7 and 8,

will not be repeated in every instance. In some instances the cotton may readily slide from its spindle and be discharged without the aidof the stripping and dofiing device 23. However'where the fiber clings tothe spindle more tenaciously, the machine operates as illustrated in Figures 7 and 8, and the stationary bars I! perform only a part of the stripping operation, with the final stripping operation being performed by the stripping and dofiing device 23. 7

It will be evident that the improved'features described above greatly contribute to the efficiency and performance of the machine. Because of the limited zone of operation of the stationary stripping bars l1, fiber does not tend toiaccumulate between the bars. Since there is no accumulation or build-up of fiber, there isfno tendency for the stripping bars to block or interfere with free movement of the spindles between the bars, and therefore there is no tendency for the spindles to be bent backwardly to the point of causing injury. In general the strip- In the third or left hand posi-'- A portion 35a of the cotton is shown expanding beyond thebers.

shutdowns for removal of accumulated cotton in the moistener. In addition substantially complete removal of cotton before the moistening operation greatly facilitates operation of the moistening means and avoids possible injury to the spindles while passing through the moistening means.

In Figure 1 the features just described have been illustrated in conjunction with additional parts of a complete cotton picking machine. Thus an air duct 31 has been shown extending from the stripping and dofiing device 23, and is arranged to receive the cotton delivered from device 23, and to convey the same to a suitable receiver. A wall 38 is also shown interposed in the path of movement of the spindles before they enter the stripping zone. This wall performs a bumping or tapping operation upon the ends of the spindles, which is desirable in that it tends to loosen the fiber, and to facilitate removal of cotton. In addition the wall is extended to the region of the stripping zone to cause all of the spindles to lag back or assume an angle such as shown in Figure 1, for proper entry and passage between the stripping bars [1.

It will be evident that the stripping and doffing device 23 can be modified in various ways. Thus as shown in Figure 4 the paddle-like members can be in the form of members 39, formed of pressed metal, and attached to a metal cylindrical hub 4|. Likewise as shown in Figure 6 the vertically spaced sets of paddle-like members can be staggered, whereby as viewed in plan, one set of members 29 will be spaced circumferentially and intermediate the adjacent set of mem- This arrangement is advantageous in that it tends to prevent accumulation, of fiber between adjacent vertically spaced members 29.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No. 594,985, filed May 21, 1945, now abandoned, entitled Cotton Picking Machines.

I claim:

1. In a cotton picking machine of the type having vertically spaced rows of rotatable cotton picking spindles movable successively through cotton picking and stripping zones, a plurality of vertically spaced stripping bars mounted upon support fingers in the stripping zone and inclined to the path of movement of the spindles, said stripping bars being so disposed that their egress ends are spaced from the path of travel of-the free ends of said spindles a substantial distance in the direction of the other ends of said spindles whereby the free ends of said spindles clear the egress 1 ends of the bars with a free end portion of each spindle projecting beyond the stripping faces of the bars to thereby provide a cotton retaining spindle portion, and a rotary stripping and dofling means disposed adjacent the egress ends of the stripping bars and serving to strip cotton from said cotton retaining portions of the spindles, said stripping and dofl'lng means having elements movable along paths extending between said rows of spindles.

2. In a cotton picking machine of the type having vertically spaced rows of rotatable cotton picking spindles movable successively through cotton picking and stripping zones, a plurality of vertically spaced stripping bars mounted in the stripping zone and inclined to the path of travel of the spindles, said stripping bars being so positioned that their egress ends are spaced from the path of travel of the free ends of said spindles a substantial distance in the direction of the other ends of said spindles whereby the free ends of said spindles clear the egress ends of the bars with the free end portion of each spindle projecting beyond the stripping faces of the bars to thereby provide a cotton retaining spindle portion, and rotary stripping and doffing means disposed adjacent but spaced from the egress ends of the stripping bars and serving to strip cotton from said cotton retaining portions of the spindles, said last means comprising a rotating device having circumferentially spaced rigid paddle-like members disposed to sweep through vertically spaced annular zones extending substantially the entire vertical distance between the rows of spindles, said zones overlapping the free ends of the spindles for a length which is substantially greater than the length of said cotton retaining spindle portions.

3. In a cotton picking machine of the type having vertically spaced rows of rotatable cotton picking spindles movable successively through cotton picking and stripping zones, a plurality of vertically spaced stripping bars mounted in the stripping zone and inclined to the path of movement of the spindles, said stripping bars being so disposed that their egress ends are spaced from the path of travel of the free ends of said spindles a substantial distance in the direction of the other ends of said spindles whereby the free ends of said spindles clear the egress ends of the bars with a free end portion of each spindle projecting beyond the stripping faces of the bars to thereby provide a cotton retaining spindle portion, and a rotary stripping and doffing means disposed adjacent the egress ends of the stripping bars and serving to strip cotton from said cotton retaining portions of the spindles, said last named means comprising a rotating device having circumferentially spaced rigid paddle-like members disposed to sweep through vertically spaced paths defining annular zones extending for substantially the entire vertical distance between the rows of spindles, said zones also overlapping the free ends of the spindles for a length which is substantially greater than the length of said cotton retaining spindle portions, the paths of said paddle-like members being adjacent to but spaced from the egress ends of the stripper bars in the direction in which said spindles move relative to said stripper bars.

MACK D. RUST.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 685,441 Campbell Oct. 29, 1901 840,367 Piper Jan. 1, 1907 1,008,229 White Nov. 7, 1911 2,200,303 Rust May 14, 1940 

